Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 3hFrodo went to the very edge of his ability and it wasn't quite enough. He failed, and is a hero in the failure. And this is a story arc I want more of. A duty too vast. A person who can endure no further. I had never put these two things together in my head before. 040
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 3hI play RPGs in a way that gives me what this chapter of LotR does - the person right at the very end of their endurance who can endure no more, and so they fail. I love stories about duty, but some of what is interesting in duty is that it can ask too much. 140
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 3hOf course I am not here suggesting that my RPGing is on par with Tolkien's storytelling skills. But I think Pechaček's post I think made clear to me why I think what Tolkien was doing was good, and why it's clearly something I crave in stories more broadly, especially the ones that let me choose. 110
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 3hWherever it is possible for that to happen, I have ended up with a character in these games who is good, good, all the way good, upper left blue as you like. Except... at the very last possible moment, they make the selfish/wrong/insufficiently good/complicated choice. 110
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 3hWhich is Tolkien discussion I entirely agree with, but more to the point of this thread, made me realise something about RPGs, and specifically my "canon" in all the Bioware RPGs I've played. 110
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 3hSpecifically, he says: "But the complete picture of heroism in The Lord of the Rings has to include him turning aside from his goal at the very edge of accomplishing it. This story wouldn’t mean anything otherwise. Just a good guy who was good to the end." 110
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 3hAs is my wont, having just finished writing up my LotR post, I read Jared Pechaček's on the same section. And specifically for the purpose of this thread, the one on the chapter Mount Doom, in which he talks (quite rightly) about how Frodo fails at the last hurdle of the quest. 110
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 3hI just had a stupid thought I have nowhere really to put, so I'm putting on bsky. 140
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 4hOur Tolkien reread arrives at Mount Doom and the destruction of the Ring, about which I have a lot of thoughts, even for me. And The Field of Cormallen, which... not so much.readerofelse.wordpress.comA Close Reading of LotR – Episode 22 – The Winds of ChangeAnd so, we come to the destruction of the Ring. Surely, this is the end! Everything solved, happy fun time. Well… not so much1. This time, we’re covering III – Mount Doom and IV &… 030
Reposted by Roseanna PendleburyRenay⁷ @renay.bsky.social · 6hIntergalactic Mixtape is live, featuring: Podcast Bonanza and Giant Book List!buttondown.comIntergalactic Mixtape #74Hey! It’s Podcast Week on Intergalactic Mixtape’s A-Side, plus an essay about awards. This week there’s also a special “Renay decided she wanted a book list... 045
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 7h(No link because I have no idea if links from Qobuz work if you don't use the app yourself) 110
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 7hThe current one is the album Trian by Claire M. Singer, but I'd also recommend her other albums for general eerieness, and Devotions (String Quartet No 3) by Solem Quartet. 110
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 7hOooh I like that. I’m adding it to the playlist. 010
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 7hFailing to get this post written up. Guess it's time for the unsettling classical music playlist! Nothing better for the work ethic than eerie violins, right? 280
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 10hWhy do I have to /call/ someone to update my bank card on my entirely digital subscription to a thing??? Don't make me talk to people, god. 060
Reposted by Roseanna PendleburyRebecca Fraimow @rebeccafraimow.bsky.social · 10hTHIS WAS INDEED VERY SILLY. idk, as a reader, I find it frustrating and condescending to be given a set of USA-colored glasses and forced to look at everything through that distortion filter. I read to have a chance to exist outside of my own context! 191
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 13hVery much enjoying the "fuck yeah Anne Carson" vibe online the last couple of days. I too am team fuck yeah Anne Carson. I haven't (yet) read all of her stuff, but Eros the Bittersweet remains my personal favourite. 090
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 14hOh that’s a gorgeous photo. Though also it must have been FREEZING. 100
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 08/10/2026I think I might have got sunburnt. In Northumberland. In October. Fucking ginger bullshit. 150
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 08/10/2026Yeah the tour guide was talking about how they’ve recently found something that might be a temple (but it’s unclear). So cool. 100
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 08/10/2026That sounds amazing (definitely including the important historical fact correction). 110
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 08/10/2026Ooh fab. Honestly I’d love to just do a (slow, stopping to look at every interesting thing) walk along the wall and all the forts. 210
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 08/10/2026I had such a good time, happily spent a number of hours in the museum, especially looking at the letters 120
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 08/10/2026If so they may also want to add a list of questions the archaeologists want them to answer 010
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 08/10/2026It’s a silly little thing, but I love that, on a lot of the info signs, they have some of the info in Latin. 260
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 07/10/2026I have not, but this is probably my full roof allocation for this flying visit. 010
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 07/10/2026They also just look silly all smushed up like that. Give the poor words some space to breathe. 100
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Honestly one of the best thing about visiting old stuff is being able to go up on the roof. Cathedral? Castle? Doesn’t matter. Love a roof. 1101
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Also feels kind of apt that the reconstruction image on this info board has been lost. 120
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Thinking May We Feed the King thoughts 280
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 07/10/2026One day I will stop here and go look, rather than just admiring from the train. 350
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 07/10/2026We’re now making an operational stop at Doncaster so an engineer can address a “technical issue with the service”. 000
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 07/10/2026A niche variant on typical dash discourse: m dashes are bad because there’s no spaces between their sandwiching words and the dash, so my kindle treats it all as a single word when I’m trying to highlight, leaving the quotes messy when I want to pull them out later. 160
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 07/10/2026At least I managed to get an almond croissant the size of my head and a cardamom chai before getting the next train 110
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 07/10/2026This time I am going to start a spreadsheet to see if I disproportionally experience train issues. It has happened enough that people at old job would joke that they wouldn’t catch a train with me but maybe that was just me whining a lot. Need data. 220
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Or even just “but that’s just… prose??”. I think I boggle more when it’s just like, fine. 030
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Extremely relate to this. The thing that often stumps me also is how to talk about it; I often find myself defaulting to quite loose or metaphorical ways of discussing prose which like… is that actually helpful? Idk! Overthinking time! 2100
Reposted by Roseanna PendleburyRoseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Had a really great time chatting (and chatting, and chatting some more) with Casella about the Le Guin Prize shortlist. Honestly I could easily have gone on longer; it’s a list with a lot to discuss, in a great way. 33615
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Oh hundred percent. I am always full sickosyes whenever a new episode drops for precisely that reason, they’re always so chunky. 110
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 06/10/2026This definitely accords with my bookclubbing/book discussing in general experience also. Lot of distrust and disdain available for things perceived as "wanky". 070
Reposted by Roseanna PendleburyNerds of a Feather @nerdsofafeather.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Video Game Review: Wolverine by Insomniac Games JOe DelFranco has our review for your Tuesday at the NOAF blog: www.nerds-feather.com/2026/10/revi...nerds-feather.comVideo Game Review: Wolverine by Insomniac GamesNot quite the best there is, but more than good enough Dr. Nathaniel Essex is trapped in a heavily guarded compound by rival scientist, Boli... 023
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Alright Captain Geography, calm down with your fancy “facts”. 000
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 06/10/2026It’s always the UK/US differences thing. Clearly another reason for the necessity of GyreCon, @casella.bsky.social, to hash it all out on neutral (if slightly watery) ground. 120
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 06/10/2026I was originally approximately-Wigan. That has very long gone these days. I used to switch when I was a kid depending on who I was talking to but as an adult I can’t even put it on, it just sounds fake now. 010
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Yeah this. Like, I want to fit “general fiction” in somewhere. And possibly “commercial fiction” too, maybe (inevitable categorisation debate pending). 250
Roseanna Pendlebury @chloroformtea.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Mine possibly extra weird because it’s been through a bunch of shifts through my life but tbh, just in general. 110
Reposted by Roseanna PendleburyJake Casella Brookins @casella.bsky.social · 05/10/2026... & more into a kind of tough criticism of SF itself, where & why it couldn't or shouldn't be considered literary. I don't think genres are bad, they're useful, but thinking harder about why Atwood & Whitehead & Vonnegut & maybe VanderMeer are shelved where they are might be a worthwhile gadfly. 1303